"I don't give a damn what people say. You could always tell that.". It also seemed an object lesson in the relativity of medical truth, and in . Since Reggie Lewis collapsed and died on a practice court in 1993, there have been rumors that the Boston Celtics star's death was fueled by cocaine use. "Every time I thought I had him beat, he'd recover and get up on me. "When we got on the court, Reggie treated him like everyone else," Shaw said. Health officials in one region of Italy reported that screening had saved at least 22 lives. Doctors tried to get answers. Hookailo said defense attorneys have rejected Northeastern's compromise. A heart arrhythmia . A single dose can increase heart rate and blood pressure, narrow the arteries and cause a heart attack. "They are worse than ludicrous. reggie lewis diedreggie lewis death videodonna harris-lewisreggie lewis death videoreggie lewis death on court The other five -- Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Chris Mullin -- are all Hall of Famers. He just came to play. Find a doctor at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center or Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Lewis was one of the exceptions. In Game 4, he topped that with 42 points, six assists and five steals. -- Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets and Claude Lemieux of the New Jersey Devils were suspended and fined by the NHL for separate incidents last weekend. The intense debate among his doctors over the cause of his heart damage and the possible role of cocaine never became public. His cause of death was cited as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common athletic ailment where the heart thickens, eventually causing heart attacks and cardiac . } MJ was the best player in the game, the perfect measuring stick for a young player trying to establish credibility. "We used to talk all the time about how we wanted to be the breakout tandem, the Celtics backcourt to be reckoned with for a long, long time.". Jordan likened Lewis to Detroit guard Joe Dumars, who, along with Isiah Thomas, led the Pistons to back-to-back championships. Per CBS, Lewis had collapsed one time before, during a playoff game earlier that year against the Charlotte Hornets. In 2004, the International Olympic Committee recommended that all athletes be EKG-tested every two years for potential heart abnormalities. Was he going left or right? January 14, 2010- To this day, it still shocks former Dunbar High School basketball coach Bob Wade when he thinks back to June 1993, when he first heard that his star former student, 27-year-old Reggie Lewis, 67 and 195 pounds, the top scorer and center for the Boston Celtics, had suddenly collapsed and died during basketball shoot-around. "[19][20] Also, Lewis's heart tissue tested positive for adenovirus during his autopsy. It was not much different behind the scenes, according to the Journal. . They knew Reggie Lewis was no slouch. Shortly after the doctors' assessments were related to Lewis and his wife, the player checked himself out of Baptist Hospital and was admitted to nearby Brigham and Women's, where he underwent additional tests. He soon left to seek care at another hospital. The following day, the Celtics gathered a dozen heart specialists through New England Baptist Hospital, a dream team of doctors, according to The Boston Globe. Though his cause of death was later determined to be cardiac arrhythmia, at the time of his death, there was speculation that he had been using performance-enhancing drugs. In the last decade, Abraham has treated dozens of athletes with overly enlarged hearts. "From a medical perspective, looking at a heart, you can't tell what was going on," Dr. Gold said. He told the athlete privately that his career was over. Reggie Lewis, the Boston Celtics' star who collapsed with a heart ailment during a playoff game last April and was warned by doctors that he would risk his life if he ever played basketball again . The extra adrenalin is like poison to the heart. * Mr. Lewis' new doctors concluded that his problem was a benign fainting condition, requiring only tests and close monitoring. "[18] On the other hand, the doctor who performed the autopsy on Lewis testified that the scarring on his heart was inconsistent with cocaine use, and other doctors reached the same conclusion though they "stopped short of saying he never used drugs. One of his two brothers was born with a hole in his heart and underwent open-heart surgery at age 4. McBride's 1994 Utes tied the school record with eight straight wins, finishing 10-2. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. As a Celtic, he and his family lived in Dedham, Massachusetts. According to the Journal, the partnership found itself with a capital deficit of $28.1 million in the summer of 1993. By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff,July 28, 2013, 12:00 a.m. 11. It was during a workout at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, on July 27, 1993, when Lewis collapsed on the court and died. The story of how Reggie Lewis is one of the most heartbreaking stories you will ever hear. "He was on his way," Bird noted. George Archer had a second-round five-under-par 67 to take a two-stroke lead at a Senior PGA tournament in Naples, Fla. Thomas Hearns (53-4-1) retained his North American Boxing Federation cruiserweight title by overcoming two knockdowns in a unanimous 12-round decision over Freddie Delgado at Charlotte, N.C. Lewis' coach and a teammate said they knew nothing about the reported cocaine use. BOSTON - Doctors suspected that cocaine killed Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis in 1993, but they were thwarted by actions by his family and a "dismissive" policy toward drugs by the NBA, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Reggie had no choice but to learn to wait on greatness. "Reggie Lewis' death was not caused by cocaine ingestion, nor was the damage to the heart at all typical of that known to be caused by cocaine usage," Dr. Richard Evans said. He denied it. But as he was running down the left side of the parquet, he inexplicably stumbled, then fell. Most of the time internet deceives the audience by passing news about a healthy person as if they are dead. Stanton C. Kessler, the associate chief medical examiner of Massachusetts who signed the death certificate, told the New York Times that a virus was found in Lewis heart and it caused myocarditis, an inflammation that scars and enlarges the heart. If you know that somebodyused cocaine, you might think that caused it, but they might have heart damage for another reason," Dr. Gottlieb said. -- Utah football coach Ron McBride, who last fall led the Utes to their best season in school history, has agreed to a new five-year contract. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Because of the differing views, Lewis had a team of L.A. specialists review the data. Volunteers will test student athletes during the third annual Hopkins Heart Hype screening slated to take place at the 14th annual Basketball Academy Competition. All Rights Reserved. His uniform number was retired and hangs in tribute in Matthews Arena (the home of Northeastern University's men's basketball team and the Celtics' original home arena in 1946). That's when Lewis came down and drilled a 3-pointer to tie it. display: none; . PRO BASKETBALL; Reggie Lewis's Family Had a History of Heart Problems Colombias team was encouraged when doctors said a knee cartilage tear suffered by midfielder Carlos Valderrama, 32, wasnt as severe as feared and he should be ready for the World Cup. After breaking the Northeastern scoring record, he was drafted 22nd by the Boston Celtics but played only 8.3 minutes a game in his 1987-88, his rookie season. "Any allegation that economic or monetary concerns could have conceivably played a role in any care that Reggie Lewis got are absolutely ludicrous," he said. On March 31, 1991, at the Boston Garden, Lewis gave Jordan a night he hasnt forgotten. He played 15 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. L He charged further that the article was motivated by racism. Nobody ever gave Jordan any flak over his performance that night. There are several thousand such sudden deaths per year in younger adults in the United States by some estimates. At issue was concern for his reputation and the financial interests of his family and the team, the newspaper said. B/W PHOTO: [excerpt of story printed in The Wall Street Journal]COLOR PHOTO:EVAN RICHMAN/THE BOSTON GLOBEAfter the Lewises left Baptist (top), Mudge gave Reggie an optimistic prognosis, but two months after he and the doctor hugged, Reggie died in the gym (opposite) of causes that the death certificate (far right) may or may not have pinpointed. BOSTON - Reggie Lewis did not die as a result of cocaine use, according to a review of the Boston Celtics star's autopsy. SF tourists go in droves to In-N-Out. The block surprised Jordan, whose otherworldly elevation usually negated any chance of a rejected shot. . The autopsy did not reveal evidence of cocaine, which would be difficult to detect after more than three days, and without other evidence of drug use it could not be listed as a cause of death, the doctors said. Lewis transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where another team, this one led by Dr. Gilbert Mudge, diagnosed him with a less-harmful neurological condition. Reggie Lewis Cause of Death, How did Reggie Lewis Die? Teammate Dee Brown called the Wall Street Journal article "a bunch of crap.". "Furthermore, there is no conceivable way that the NBA's anti-drug program had anything to do with the issue of whether Reggie Lewis was tested or could have been tested upon his admission to the hospital," Granik said. #inline-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { . But it has agreed to a compromise that would provide the information with the proviso certain information be kept confidential. * The Celtics at the time were deeply in debt and in the midst of negotiations to sell a television station. From Staff and Wire Reports. Midway through his first season in the NBA, I asked him how he was holding up. "When Reggie first came into the league," Bird told me, "he really didn't know how to play the game. If you started yapping at either of those guys, they just smiled at you. [citation needed], On March 22, 1995, the Boston Celtics retired Lewis' jersey. What Killed Reggie Lewis? - CBS News [6], His no. He blocked four of Jordans shots, shocking His Airness in the process. Autopsy confirms Lewis had serious heart defects Specific ailment still McHale followed the year after. Two other doctors who examined the heart, however, said they found scarring that they described as consistent with cocaine damage, the Journal reported. Dr. Kenneth Baughman, professor of medicine and chairman of the division of cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said viruses commonly cause this type of heart damage in young people. There was the 1984 NCAA tournament game against VCU, when he was close to unstoppable. "Indeed, since Reggie's death, local and out-of-town reporters have combed our campus for evidence of drug use or association by Reggie. He never relinquished his own aggressiveness. October 19, 2022 by Robin. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On July 27, 1993, during off-season practice at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Lewis suffered sudden cardiac death on the basketball court at the age of 27 years old. He was pronounced dead two hours later, leaving his family, his friends, his city, his team and his NBA peers completely numb. A lot of people get exposed to it, and it's unusual for it to attack the heart muscle, but it can happen," said Dr. Michael Gold, director of cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. When someone with his talent does that to you, you can live with it., We lost All-Star Reggie Lewis 29 years ago today. Notice of Privacy Practices(Patients & Health Plan Members). Here's where we pause for a moment to understand the magnitude of what Jordan is saying. Boston turned out en masse to say goodbye to Celtic captain Reggie Lewis, whose death at age 27 has raised troubling questions. Would he shake you with that explosive first step and attack the rim, or would he suddenly pull up after one devastating dribble and hoist his trademark praying mantis jumper? Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Tornado flips cars, downs trees after touching down in South Florida, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident. "Looking down, (Dr. Kessler) told the group there had been legal threats made by the Lewis family and that he was bound by Massachusetts law not to discuss the case," the Journal reported. In a single dose or over years, cocaine will damage the heart. "I have many, many examples of patients like that who had a relatively sudden onset of a viral inflammation of the heart and went on to have either sudden death or sudden heart trouble," said Dr. Baughman. He never relinquished his own aggressiveness. He revived on his own, but was pulled from the game due to shortness of breath and dizziness. The use of Philips equipment for this event does not constitute or imply endorsement by Johns Hopkins of Philips products or services. "There's simply no hard science, no evidence, linking adenovirus 2 and a myocarditis.". That is how I will remember him," Ms. Harris-Lewis said. The Celtics responded by threatening to file a $100 million lawsuit against the reporter, the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones and Co. Inc. "The story was written with complete disregard for the truth," the team said in a statement. If there had been better understanding and appreciation for the risks involved with these heart abnormalities, Abraham says, it may have saved the life of Lewis, whos death was likely triggered by an overly enlarged and thickened heart. Per ESPN, Lewis proved that he could pull off insane feats throughout his tenure. Recent media reports have raised questions about whether drug use weakened his heart. "The Celtics are saddened by the vicious attack on Reggie Lewis and his family.". Boston went 32-50 in its first season without its best player. That was it.". The other five were all Hall of Fame inductees, so it's not a stretch to say that Lewis was on the path to greatness. "Reggie was very aware of the problems drugs could bring. Lewis was 27 when he died in the Celtics practice gym at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., on July 27, 1993. When you have the skills to break someone down on defense and you can't, it makes you tentative offensively.". LEWIS'S TRAGIC DEATH STILL HAUNTS CELTICS - The Washington Post It is in Lewis memory that Wade now wants to help other young athletes who may be at risk of sudden death and not know it. Two Brandeis University police officers found Lewis and attempted to revive him using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but they were unsuccessful. He was just 27. One of the world's leading experts on heart viruses, however, Dr. Jangu Banatvala, told the Journal that most people carry the common cold virus dormant in their bodies, making its presence in Mr. Lewis' body meaningless. At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team. In Game 3, with Bird unable to play because of back woes, he torched the Cavs for 36 points and seven assists. The tragedy that befell the . But the information presented regarding Reggie Lewis is true, and we found a . Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis planned to grow up in the NBA together. [1] At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team. Just ask Michael Jordan. He slashed to the hole, ripped away offensive rebounds and seized the game by its throat. Reggie Lewis was born in Baltimore. He saw it with his mother and how it ruined a lot of people's careers who came out of East Baltimore. She said that the school promised privacy to people who spoke to the commission and that releasing the files would cripple the school's ability to conduct future confidential internal investigations. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? In older patients, dead tissue might indicate damage from arteriosclerosis, abnormal thickening and loss of elasticity of the walls of the arteries. This need became more urgent after Len Bias, the 2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, died of a cocaine overdose.[5]. Mr. Lewis' doctors immediately began to question him about drug use after the fainting incident. Lewis was clean "in every way possible," Brown said. "He was a model citizen. Lewis was diagnosed with "focal cardiomyopathy", a disease of the heart muscle that can cause irregular heartbeat and heart failure. In the initial shock, the death of basketball star Reggie Lewis last week seemed a grim parable of the seductive power of professional sports -- of an athlete so devoted to a game and its rewards that he would distort medical truth in order to keep playing. The news of Lewis's untimely and unexpected death left a long-lasting hole in the Boston community and the sports world as a whole. "Reggie was a model citizen and an intelligent and wise man. And by the fourth time, on a lefty drive to the hoop, Jordan was irritated -- and somewhat spooked. How much better could he have been? "He was a tough matchup," Jordan said. While a doctor diagnosed the athlete with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the spring (and deeming the disease career-ending), Lewis sought a second opinion from another area hospital, where another doctor gave the basketball star a less serious, non-fatal diagnosis. He made his way back onto the court later in the game but quickly came back to the bench after experiencing dizziness. All five consulting physicians in the case, plus three medical labs, agreed that drugs were not involved in the death of the Boston Celtics' captain, Evans said. By his second season, thanks in part to a new coach (and an injury to Bird), Lewis averaged over 30 minutes and scored 18.5 points per game. 2 Grizzlies, Celtics-76ers first look: What could decide the battle of East heavyweights, Pregame chats, language arts and 'a lot of fines': Inside NBA player-ref dynamics, Recipient of Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. However, he later sought a second opinion from Dr. Gilbert Mudge at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who diagnosed Lewis with neurocardiogenic syncope, a less serious non-fatal condition instead. Defense, they understood, was a paramount part of that conversation. "For something like this to come out to just tarnish an image, it doesn't even have to be true. This article was compiled by Sun staff writer Frank D. Roylance, with reporting by staff writers Diana Sugg and Mike Preston and Ken Rosenthal and contributing writer Ian Browne. The New England Patriots agreed to a four-year, $6.9-million contract with guard Bob Kratch. Young athletes and their parents should feel secure in pursuing physical fitness to the best of their childrens abilities and without the unknown risk of sudden cardiac death.. News articles at the time described cardiac specialists as stunned by the diagnosis of a benign fainting condition by Dr. Gilbert Mudge of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Lakers vs. Warriors: What scouts expect in playoff series, Austin Reaves has come a long way from a tiny Arkansas town to Lakers MVP!, Game 7 mentality: Lakers close out Grizzlies to earn some rest, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, LeBron James and the Lakers eliminate Grizzlies in a Game 6 rout, Lakers will need to tighten defense on Morant and Bane if they want to win Game 6. "Reggie knew what we meant. #inline-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Lewis started all 82 games and shot better than 50% from the floor that season. Dumars was on a roster that included Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and John Salley, and their supersized personalities often overshadowed his accomplishments. He said that, in cases of a damaged heart, the cause is often never discovered. 2 seed, routed Elena Makarova, 6-0, 6-2, in the opening round at the Family Circle Magazine Cup in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Italy's Silvia Farina ousted No. Reggie Lewis's death shocked Boston and the Celtics This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed [10] One of the officers was James Crowley. Derrick Lewis, no relation to Reggie Lewis but a former teammate at Dunbar and Northeastern, said the late player had nothing to do with drugs. As a result, Lewis began working out in preparation for returning for the 1994 season. At a Boston news conference yesterday, the team's majority stockholder, Paul Gaston, criticized the Journal for suggesting in the Page 1 article that the team sought, for financial reasons, to cover up suspicions that drug use lay behind Mr. Lewis' illness, thereby undermining his care. The NBA said that Roy Tarpley, who was banished in 1991 because of drug problems, has applied for reinstatement, and, at the request of his agent, the Dallas Mavericks have talked with their 7-foot center, who plays in Greece. Lewis, like so many young players of his generation, admired Jordan and hoped to emulate his ferocious commitment to the two-way game. He left having scored 17 points in 13 minutes. By the time he died, he was one of six players who, from 1988-93, posted at least 7,500 points, 1,500 rebounds, 1,000 assists and 500 steals. Each athlete will receive a cardiac ultrasound, or echocardiogram, to measure heart size and its pumping function, including blood volume, and to check for faulty valves. Baptist Hospital, meanwhile, gathered a team of a dozen cardiologists from New England hospitals to review the case. The preliminary autopsy found that Lewis' heart was "abnormal, enlarged and extensively scarred" and that "preliminary drug screenings show no evidence of drug abuse.". There was insurance coverage of more than $15 million that could be paid to the Lewis family and the Celtics only if there was no link to drugs. Theodore Abraham, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.S.E. The other 5 are NBA legends: Barkley, Drexler, Jordan, Karl Malone & Mullin pic.twitter.com/1RbXJGIuDp. The diagnosis was that Lewis suffered from focal cardiomyopathy, a condition of the heart muscle that could cause heart failure. NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the Journal's story "is based entirely on speculation and has no real factual basis.". The more we can educate young adults about the risk of sudden cardiac death, he says the more we can prevent young athletes from dying unnecessarily.. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Reggie played in the shadows of Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale in his early Celtics years, but by his fifth NBA season, he was a dominant player, carrying Boston in the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland. A bad back forced Bird into early retirement in 1992. This speculation, combined with the fact that Lewis was . [22] The rules have since been changed so that a similar case would result in a deceased player's contract being paid by league insurance.[23]. In addition, there is a history of heart trouble in Mr. Lewis' family. Like Sportscasting on Facebook. 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